Peculiar Monsters
by Courage and Love
Summary: He was a child genius. They took him for the experiment. He was in the explosion. He became one of them. But he was innocent...
1. The Division

**Just so you know, I know nothing about the experiment, chemicals, or the Russian language. Please enjoy, and if you have any ideas, let me know.**

He was innocent. He was innocent. These words swirled through his mind faster than the Siberian wind stinging his face. They were taking him up to the site. The place where the experiment was to take place.

He blinked ice crystals out of his eyes. They had kidnapped him for this. He had to help them do the impossible, or else they would kill him. It was crazy, really. Cheating death? Truly impossible. He had to fake helping his abductors. They would hardly know the difference; he was a genius for fourteen and nobody he knew was more intelligent. This actually was the reason they had taken him, he knew.

The leader pointed wordlessly at a line drawn crudely in the snow with red paint. "Work."

The boy knew he meant him. He was pushed down on the ground by the others. Staring at the line, he asked in a small voice, "So you want me to make you immortal?"

The leader laughed without humor. "Of course. Now work your magic and we won't make you disappear from the rest of the world."

The boy gulped audibly. He thought for a moment. "Go in the – what's it called – a loop? And then… I'll do it." They had briefed him before, but only enough so he could work.

They didn't have to know what exactly he would do. In fact, he was completely lying through his chattering teeth. This way, he might have a chance at escaping.

The leader crossed the line first, apparently entering the loop. The rest followed. One stayed behind to watch him.

He messed around here and there, working with the chemicals they had given him. Turning so the guarding man couldn't see what he was doing, he switched out the bromine vial for chlorine. He didn't see what either of the chemicals could do to create immortality, but it didn't matter. In the highly unlikely chance that the experiment would work, the swap of chemicals would create some sort of change in the test, stopping it and leaving him free to escape.

He made a point of spreading the chlorine around the red line painted in the snow. He then proceeded with the more complicated parts of the experiment, knowing that very few people could ever comprehend what they were.

After nearly a half hour of working, with the rest of his captors somewhere invisible behind the line (for there was no other reason for their disappearance, right?), he stood up and massaged the cold from his fingers. "Done," he said to his guard.

The guard didn't bother to grunt anything more than "Do it then."

The boy, holding his breath and knowing that they were watching and waiting from somewhere unseen, lit the fuse.

"Three, two, one…"

The flame traveled down the rope and hit one thing, then another, until the chlorine pretending to be bromine made contact.

It was unlike anything he had ever seen; the line burst upward with black fire, spiraling into the sky and spreading into the far reaches of his vision; he couldn't hold back a gasp. The boy stumbled, feeling the fire covering everything, realizing that the chlorine switch had bigger aftereffects than he had imagined. How was it possible? It wasn't; science told him that there was no way this could happen. But here it was.

 _There's one last part. The coils._

The coils were equipment designed to discharge a hundred volts of electricity on the flame's command. They had placed them under the snow six inches for about a mile in each direction with the two ends sticking out. He had no idea what they would do now.

Five. Four. Three. Two.

BOOM.

But he was innocent….

 **His POV**

Agony. That's the first thing I remembered.

And hunger. Hunger that overtook every other instinct.

I was hungry. Hungry things eat.

I crawled out of the crater. There was smoke in the cold air. I ignored my surroundings. I did not question how I had arrived there. And I was hungry. Naturally I followed the bigger ones to Food.

Food was small, skinny, pale things a bit away, hiding in buildings and screaming. Food was scared.

I liked the smell of scared.

Did I? Did I like scared?

I shook my head to clear it. Yes. I loved scared.

Food was scared. I followed the smell of fear to a campsite. Food was inside. The others of my group had not reached it yet. Maybe if I ate I wouldn't be in pain anymore. I poked my head inside. I was hungry for Food.

 _Innocent…._

What? What was innocent? That was enough to make me pause. Slowed my tentacles shooting out. Kept me from eating. Relieving my pain.

I shot out again, but the lingering spark in an otherwise cloudy mind made me slow enough to lose my upper hand on my Food. It came out from behind the furniture with a hand-carved, wooden baseball bat, looking fearfully at a space next to me. I wondered if it could see. It swung the bat at that space, and I could see a shadow – my shadow – right where the target was.

The next instant, the baseball bat kept swinging on, and I was hit hard in the head. Any doubts were washed from my mind.

I had to eat. Needed to eat. Depended on the fact that I would be in endless suffering as long as I didn't get my fill.

I came at Food again, lashing out my tongues at it. The shadow on the wall moved in time with me.

 _"_ _Hollowgast! Gospodi, pomogi mne!"_ it screamed.

Hollowgast. Hollow soul. I knew that meant me. Just then, the bigger ones of us arrived. They tore up the Food before I could lay a hand on it. I watched as they fought for it, splattering blood everywhere.

Why did you take Food from me? I snarled. They did not pay attention. I was smaller and they were busy. Now I had no meal. The torture grew stronger.

Even so, I found myself looking away as they gutted the once-Food. Why?

 _Inno…cence…_

I shook my head violently again. Something stirred in my mind. Siberia. An experiment. Nothing made sense.

Ignoring it, I ran out of the house in search of more Food.


	2. Realization

**This chapter was hard; it might be a tad confusing, but I'm planning to make another chapter, so bear with me.**

 **The peculiar OCs in this chapter will most likely not return. Unless you want them to. Changes in POV will be marked as "His POV" for the main character Hollowgast. For other characters, it will be "Other POV."**

 **I do not own the Apple company.**

100 or so Years Later…

I was still hungry. I had not yet eaten anything. The others grew bigger and stronger, until eventually they became something else. Something higher up. Something I longed to be.

I would have joined them. But whenever I made it close to the kill, something stopped me. Sometimes it was a material object, like another Hollowgast, but I was weak, they said. I was the lowest of them. They chose to ignore me most of the time.

While the world tortured me relentlessly, they worked in the labs. Created plans. All of which included the eradication of the _syndrigasti_. Those, as I learned, were what we ate.

Except for me. I couldn't even get a scrap.

Eventually, the grown ones became fed up with me. They told me to leave, sharpen my skills, and come back.

I did the first part okay. I slipped in and out of cities filled with delicious beings that I could eat. I managed a few. But no _syndrigasti_.

Somehow I had a feeling I would be… _different_ if I ate one. But different in a good way, I told myself. That was what they said to me.

But I couldn't eat one. I found them easily, I could corner them without leaving more than a shadow, and I lashed out with my tentacles. But I never managed to kill one.

 _But I was hungry._

That fact kept me at it. I had to do something; there was no way I could go on like this. Every second increased the pain.

I needed Food. I needed a moment of comfort. It was driving me crazy – it had been forever. I wasn't sure how long I had been existing, actually. But my scrambled mind didn't care much.

Food. I needed Food. Right now.

I turned into an alley. I was in an American city. It was interesting here, really. Boxes with moving screens depicted Food screaming in terror, yet explained away the attacks. I was free to eat and frighten whatever I wished.

But no matter what I consumed, I was hungry for _syndrigasti_. A syndrigast would bring me peace. I held to that belief.

But I still couldn't do it.

The smell of one of them cut into my senses. I was immediately ready.

I had to get Food.

It was one of them. I could smell its soul.

 _That's crazy. Souls are intangible._

Huh? Where did that come from? My thoughts were flashes of light and dark, not complete sentences. I couldn't think many sentences, never mind the word _intangible_. What did _intangible_ even mean?

Technically, I wasn't even capable of understanding language. So that was odd.

I remembered what I needed – Food.

Hungry.

I followed the scent. It led to a building.

I went inside. The door bent open at my force. I saw that I was in the living room of an apartment. I smiled, licking my teeth in anticipation, enjoying the strength.

I was ready.

The syndrigast was inside. It was saying something. Shouting, actually. I liked the smell.

I lunged forward, tentacles bursting from my mouth.

 _"Stop! Somebody, help me! There's a Hollow!"_ it shouted, stumbling backwards and hurling a lamp a few meters away from my head.

Something moved upstairs. The second figure raced down the steps, also shouting. It wore something over its ears that was connected by a wire to something tucked in its arm. A grey square. A blue image of what appeared to be an apple pulsed on it.

The figure immediately dropped its square on the carpet when it realized what was transpiring. It leaped from the staircase to my target, already carrying the scent of terror. I curled my tongues eagerly. Two _syndrigasti_.

They threw whatever they could at me. It was almost amusing, batting away the objects with my invisible tentacles. But I couldn't do that forever. I needed to eat. Feast on their souls.

For some reason, that prospect did not particularly please me. That must have been why I was sent away.

But this time I would do it. After so many failed attempts, I would do it.

I came closer. The other lamp that was not shattered on the ground cast my imposing shadow against the wall. I had them in my grasp.

Food was mine. I needed Food.

"Do something!" the first one sobbed to the other. It didn't reply, its gaze still fixed on me.

They were backed up against the wall. I inched closer.

I needed to eat right now. No other time. The pain was too great. The suffering had to end.

Food.

 **Other POV**

The two peculiar children, Tamara and Evan, huddled, horror-struck, as the Hollowgast approached. They could not believe that it was happening. They'd seen and heard of other peculiars being devoured by the monsters, but they'd never dreamed of being in that position themselves.

Tamara levitated books off shelves to slam into the invisible creature, tears streaking her face. Evan sent electricity crackling out of his fingertips, knowing nothing could save them. The Hollow kept advancing.

"If only we could reason with it!" Tamara wailed, pressing herself against the wall.

Evan rolled his eyes. "That's ludicrous," he said, although he knew she was just trying to come up with a way out of the impossible situation.

Tamara, seemingly unable to process their defeat, pleaded instead to the monster, "Please! Just please! We have to do something! Anything! Please!" She collapsed to the ground in tears.

She was desperate. Talking madness. Evan had to get some sense into her. "Come on. We _can_ do something."

Just then, the Hollowgast lashed out with its monstrous, unseen tentacles and Evan was knocked back into the wall. The creature's shadow faced him.

They had no chance. He and Tamara were going to die.

As a last-ditch attempt, Evan reached down and picked up his broken MacBook. He normally would've complained about the crack in the screen from his dropping it, but now was hardly the time. Evan, staring at the empty space in front of him, tried to guess the position of the Hollow.

He held his breath.

He chucked the laptop at a chosen area, ten meters in front of him.

And he was appalled to see it disappear with a squelch.

Unbelievable! The freaking Hollowgast _ate_ his computer!

Evan gulped as the monster's shadow edged forward. There would be no more waiting for it.

He and Tamara, who was still unresponsive on the floor, were going to die.

 **His POV**

FOOD.

The simple scent was enough to make me salivate. I approached slowly, savoring the hunt.

The first Food was panicking. I stretched my mouth into a smile.

I was surprised, however, when it spoke to me. It was begging. I concentrated on the words.

It wanted me to let it go.

I lunged forward. Must get Food.

The second Food. I attacked it with my tentacles.

But I didn't hurt it. Not yet.

The _syndrigasti_ were cornered. I could take time. Plus, I wasn't sure…

Yes I was. I needed Food.

The second Food was doing something. Reaching down. I watched. It picked something up –

Ow! The square with the glowing apple. It threw it at me. I shot out a tongue and grabbed it from the air, after it hit me in the head.

Why not? I swallowed it whole.

Uh, no. Not a good taste.

I needed better Food. A syndrigast.

I lifted the first Food off the floor with my clawed hand. It was no longer crying.

The other Food was screaming now. I didn't care; I would silence it soon.

The first Food stared up at me, eyes unfocused. "Why," it whispered.

Huh?

 _I was innocent. I was innocent. These words swirled through my mind faster than the Siberian wind stinging my face. They were taking me up to the site. The place where the experiment was to take place._

 _I blinked ice crystals out of my eyes. They had kidnapped me for this. I had to help them do the impossible, or else they would kill me. It was crazy, really. Cheating death? Truly impossible. I had to fake helping my abductors. They would hardly know the difference; I was a genius for fourteen and nobody I knew was more intelligent. This actually was the reason they had taken me, I knew._

I stumbled backwards, dropping Food. A girl. A person. She lay where I dropped her, unmoving.

The boy was still screaming.

I stared frantically around me. What?

I could remember. I could remember what had happened.

Who was I? A person? What was my name?

Now I was a monster. What had I done as one?

I tried to speak. No English.

My thoughts were still crowded. I still needed to eat.

But I was once innocent. I had to do something.

I staggered away from the _syndrigasti_. I needed to find someone to help me.

So I left them and raced through the city.


	3. Unforgotten

**I am sorry about this chapter. Love (as in, not me - I'm Courage) says it is sad. Whatever. I will continue it happier, I hope. And I'm sorry if that is incorrect grammar. By the way, I actually decided to keep the OC peculiars in here; there's a great plot idea that I just had. Don't worry! I'm planning on having some of Mrs. Peregrine's peculiar characters come in soon. Enjoy!**

Evan cracked open an eye. "Huh?"

The Hollow had left. Evan had been sure it was about to eat Tamara. But it was gone. He had felt its presence leave.

Tamara was lying on the floor. She wasn't moving.

Evan rushed to her side. "Tamara?" he said, leaning over her.

She groaned and shifted, but immediately started shaking. Evan grabbed her arm in alarm, but she didn't stop. "Oh, it killed us! Why did it kill us? I'm dead!" she screamed.

" _Tamara!_ "

She slowly ceased shivering. Opening her eyes, she moaned, "Am I not dead?"

Evan stared at her worriedly. "Are you all right?"

Tamara blinked as if realizing he was there for the first time. She suddenly threw her arms around him and sobbed, "I'm sorry! But it was too terrifying!"

He patted her hair. That was Tamara, always going to pieces in a crisis. But it _had_ been frightening.

"It's okay," he said soothingly. "But I think we should hit the road. They know where we are now."

Tamara nodded, breathing hard, an unfocused look in her eyes. Without warning, she bolted upright with a sudden thought. "How'd you get the Hollow away?" She began scanning the apartment anxiously for any signs of a shadow.

Evan frowned. "I don't know. It was holding you, about to… finish us off, when it just… left." He didn't know how to explain it better.

Tamara tilted her head. "Before, when I sort of lost it, I could feel… its thoughts, in a way," she murmured.

Evan sighed. "Tam, you said it yourself; you 'lost it.' Plus, people don't get _two_ peculiar traits; you already have telekinesis. And Hollowgasts don't even think things anyway."

Tamara shrugged glumly, and Evan felt a bit sorry for her. He smiled and offered to get her some water from the kitchen. She consented, and moments later with a cup of water in her hand, the flush in her cheeks had died down.

After finishing off her drink, she remarked, "I know it was crazy. But I felt as though I could see what the Hollow had been before. Like, you know, before the experiment?"

Evan rolled his eyes. "Okay. Whatever your unbalanced mind says."

Tamara punched him playfully in the arm, and they sat in silence, observing the wreckage of their apartment.

While Evan completely doubted it, though, Tamara still secretly wondered; had she seen glimpses of the Hollow's mind? What had made it leave before devouring them?

Whatever it was, Tamara wanted to find out. She would, somehow. And she would start by contacting other peculiars with Evan's unwitting help.

 **His POV**

I glanced frantically around. I was in the city still. People rushed by, not knowing they were standing inches from a gruesome monster's maw.

I couldn't just run from the leaders. They were monitoring me even though I was far away from the base. But I couldn't possibly attack any more innocent people. Innocent like I had been once.

So I had to get help. Somehow. There were _syndrigasti_. Surely they could do something.

I hadn't wanted to be a monster. I had had a home before. A family.

I had been a kid. I was not supposed to have lived this long.

These things weren't supposed to be real.

But memories or no, I was still hungry. I wanted to fight myself; now was not the time. But part of me was still primal Hollowgast.

 _No! I do not want to eat people!_

But my feet – clawed and durable – took me in the wrong direction. My brain wanted answers, but _I_ wanted Food.

 _Stop!_

I strained and fought, but the harder I struggled, the more detached I became. I couldn't do anything. I was too powerful.

The home my feet brought me to was nothing out of the ordinary. It had boarded up windows and age-old police tape covering the mossy fence. Just like every other place in the bad side of town.

But the smell of _syndrigasti_ lured me to it. I told myself, _No! I need their help! I cannot murder them!_ But I walked on in.

Nothing. Everything was old and broken, with layers of dust. Only a place for the wrong sort of people now.

 _A loop._ I knew it somehow, in the back of my mind. And I knew that I could not access it.

 _So don't. Get a grip and save the world from yourself._

But I couldn't. I had to report this to them. One of the things that the ones in charge had us learn.

I knew where I could contact them. There was a place a few miles away. Behind a supermarket. The place had a recorder that we used to communicate to the base. They would want to know about the loop; after all, they already knew I was here.

Against the better part of my judgement, I went to the place. There was the recorder, disguised as a machine. Not a very good disguise.

The Hollow in me didn't care. I found the button to transmit the location.

" _Have you found a loop?"_ A voice from the speaker said.

I grunted, silently screaming, _No! Stop it!_

 _"Is this loop in your area?"_

Another grunt. Please no.

 _"We will send a soldier to your location. Please stand by or use this time to continue your activities."_ Another word for murder. I tasted bile in my throat.

The speaker clicked off. I moved to leave for hunting. I was hungry.

 _Not this time._ I used every last shred of willpower to instead slam my clawed fist into the wall of the supermarket.

 _Rrrrr_ … I spun around and left the place. My mind lost the battle. I was a monster from within. But maybe I could still steer this in the right direction.


	4. Peculiar City

**Sorry it took so long. The next one will probably take even longer. This is because I need to study up on the peculiar world and find teensy little facts that are crucial to the story. And it is truly a pain to do.**

 **You know, I just** ** _have_** **to keep working with Evan and Tamara. I've got plans for them. More to come!**

I could smell more _syndrigasti_. I could see them, too. They were walking in the streets next to everyday people, going about their business.

It was horrible, watching them, knowing that my leaders would find them soon. I headed in the opposite direction.

Was there a way to save them? I didn't know. But if there was, I would get them in the end anyway. My brain could not hold out against the Hollowgast.

So I had to… _cure_ myself, or something. There was no other option.

"Hollowgast. We have a job for you."

I glanced up, startled, and saw a human man looking straight at me. He had no pupils.

By his smell, I could tell that he was one of the leaders. Not human. Demon in disguise.

"We will give you a chance to redeem yourself. All you have to do is come with me. We are tracking a particularly large group of _syndrigasti_. You have the chance to help."

He said this like it was some great honor. I bared my teeth, but as a monster I found it appealing. Yes. I would help.

"Good," he said. "Now follow me."

He strode away. I loped after him. Maybe it would be good. I could try and sabotage whatever they were planning. I knew that was impossible, but I was desperately trying to think of something.

I paused. What if I could get those poor _syndrigasti_ to help me, the ones the leader was speaking of?

I dismissed that theory. How could they do anything? It wasn't like they could talk to monsters. Plus, I doubted they would be likely to help me when I would be about to eat them.

That was another worry. I still needed Food. What would happen when I confronted a large group of it?

I shook my head and tried to pull away from the leader. But I knew that I couldn't. I had to listen to the higher-ups.

He glared at me, and I sped up to his pace.

 **Other POV**

Evan didn't want to go _towards_ the Hollowgast. He wanted to get as far away from it as possible.

But Tamara was set in her ways. She dragged him out of their broken apartment and up the crowded street.

"There's a loop around here. You know what that is," she coaxed, picking up the pace.

"I don't care," he complained. "Besides, there's a reason we didn't join when they asked us to."

Tamara rolled her eyes. "But if the Hollow _knows_ where we _are_ ," she emphasized, "then it could track us down at any moment. Loops are safer by far."

Evan sighed but followed her down the street. What had she gotten them into?

"Here we are!" she said cheerfully. "Miss Canary's loop!"

They were far away from the heart of the city. Suburban living was just a few miles away.

But where they were now, nothing looked happy. Buildings were falling apart, and only a couple stores were still in business.

One abandoned house contained the loop. Tamara led the way past all the others, until they stopped at an average-looking one, seemingly no different from the others. The two kids entered the building, mindful of the falling plaster.

Suddenly, the broken and deteriorated room fixed itself. Crumbling walls became shiny and new, and furniture restored to its early colors. Evan knew that was what entering a loop was like, but he was still in awe as the smashed light fixture glowed brightly and welcomingly.

It immediately became apparent that something was wrong. Miss Canary's usually cheerful wards were nowhere to be found.

"Miss Canary?" Tamara yelled into the house. She peered around the corner into a furnished living space. "Miss Canary!"

"Where do you think –?" Evan started, but at that moment, they heard speaking.

It was coming from somewhere in another room, maybe a basement, because it was muffled. But both kids could tell that the speaker was loud and angry. And his voice was steadily growing closer.

Evan motioned frantically for Tamara to duck down. They crawled behind a cheery recliner by the fireplace.

"…Get them and take them outta here. We've got to get them back, and then we transport the ymbryne to the location," someone was saying. His voice was rough and sent shivers up the kids' spines.

"Yeah," said an equally rough voice. "Call the team. We're all set."

The two men came into view then, but there were other people with them. Smaller people.

 _"Miss Canary's children!"_ Tamara gasped. Evan shushed her.

The first man prodded the line of children with something. Evan shifted to see and inhaled sharply. It was a gun.

"Stop," sobbed one of the children. "Please."

The second man only laughed. "Don't waste your breath, little one," he said. "We've got plans for you."

Evan and Tamara had seconds before the children were taken for good. And then they would be discovered.

So Evan, on impulse, jumped out from behind the recliner and bellowed, "HOWDY THERE!" Not wasting time, he body slammed the man with the gun.

With an "oof!" the man tumbled down, and Tamara used the opportunity to snatch his gun.

Shaking, she pointed it at the second man.

He got over his shock fast. Drawing out a second pistol from his coat, he pointed it at her. "Don't move. Or I'll shoot you in the head faster than you can kill me."

Meanwhile, Evan tumbled down with the first man. "So you're a Wight," he grunted, rolling over him. "I expected you to be more… eyeless."

The Wight glared at him, kneeing him in the stomach. "Contacts, don't you know? I'm so glad you decided to join the party."

Evan sucked in air, feeling like he was a fish gasping for air. But he couldn't let the Wight get the upper hand. He pinwheeled his arms in the air, struggling with it as it fought to get out from under him.

At that moment, something flew through the air and struck the Wight in the head. It was a lucky shot, one in a thousand, since they were flailing so much on the ground. But the Wight was immediately knocked unconscious.

Evan looked at the object. It was a bowling ball.

He sat up, panting and inspecting his bruises. "Thanks," he said, looking up for his angel.

One of the kids in the handcuffed line smiled at him. "No, thank _you_ ," she whispered.

Evan glanced around for Tamara, but he didn't have to look far.

She was standing a few yards away from the second Wight, pointing a gun at its head.


	5. Hysteria

**I'm sorry for taking so long. I was trying to decide the best course of action for the plot, and there were some facts that I needed to brush up on but was too lazy to reread. Poor, panicky Tamara! But now they're all back. And I sorta made something up, but come on, I had to! Anyway, that's what fanfiction is about, right? And I hope you like the new cover... much darker... nice, isn't it?  
**

The world stood frozen in place, dead silent except for Evan's heavy breathing. The twelve children of Miss Canary's, Evan, the unconscious Wight, and petrified Tamara and the other monster.

No one spoke. The Wight held its gun casually, yet kept it fixed on Tamara. Tamara was blind with fear, the only thing keeping her motionless being the knowledge that she would die if she so much as relaxed her grip on her gun.

Evan wanted to cry out, but he knew that doing that would be fatal.

The Wight gestured wordlessly for Tamara to walk. Tears streaming down her face, mind unable to think a single thing, she complied.

They faced each other, walking sideways to stay on guard. Everyone was still quiet.

Soon, they were at the exit from the loop. The Wight indicated for Tamara to leave.

She didn't think about it, really. What was there to think about? She was having another nervous breakdown, worse than the time with the Hollow. This time, she couldn't even think. It was like she had gone into shock.

No expression was on her face. Evan stared at her from across the room, willing her to look his way. But she didn't.

Soundlessly, she turned to leave.

And then she attacked.

It was lightning fast; Evan didn't even see it. But he heard it all right.

The gunshot rang through the air. Tamara had shot the Wight, faking it out first. Since it hadn't expected it, she had managed to throw off its aim before it struck back.

But of course the Wight shot her back. It was obvious the way the blood blossomed on her sleeve, the way she gasped more piercing than any gunshot, the way she stumbled to the ground.

The Wight wasn't even dead. Tamara had shot it in the torso, but it was taking a long time to die. Evan abandoned all caution, racing over to Tamara, when it coughed out to him, " _I will get you anyway. We all will. And you will wish I had killed you instead."_

Evan ignored the chilling words, kneeling down next to Tamara. The Wight was wrong. She wasn't dead. He kept telling himself that.

Tamara was already out cold. No person should go through that, Evan thought. Not even peculiars.

He glanced up at Miss Canary's wards. They were staring at him with a mixture of sorrow and gratitude.

"Can you help her?" he asked desperately.

"I think so," said the girl who had helped him before. The children glanced at each other, and in unison they parted. A skinny kid with thin snow-colored hair stood in the empty space. She seemed about nine years old, but Evan knew she could really be more than ninety. The price of living in time loops had been one of the factors that had made him and Tamara turn down the offer to join Miss Canary's wards years ago.

The little girl walked silently through the parted crowd. When she reached Evan beside Tamara, she whispered, "I can heal people. But I have never tried a bullet wound before."

Evan nodded, his heartbeat loud in his ears. The children, still handcuffed to one another, had to shuffle closer so the young girl could reach Tamara.

The girl knelt next to her. She touched her wounded arm, mumbling quiet words. It seemed to take forever to Evan. He was about to say something when she breathed, "The bullet did not stay in her arm. She is healed."

With that, the odd girl stood up and departed back into the group, which effectively swallowed her. For eleven kids, they were exceptional at blocking her from view once again.

Evan looked down at Tamara. The color that had vanished from her cheeks because of blood loss had begun to return. She would be all right.

 **His POV**

I was taken to a place. It was a loop; that was clear.

My superior motioned for me to go in.

I stared at him. Surely he knew I couldn't go in loops?

"Special loop," he said as if guessing the reason for my hesitation. "Created by one of us. He has relations to an ymbryne. This allows him to let Hollowgasts into other times."

He didn't exactly explain it correctly in my opinion, but being technically not a sentient creature, I didn't care.

I entered the loop, expecting to feel some amazing change. The air around me pushed, as though I was not wanted there, but I shoved past.

And then I was through. Instead of some strange thing like I'd imagined, everything was basically the same. Except for some stuff, of course, but nothing important to me.

Then the odor hit me.

It was sudden, smelling of fish and rural life. It made my mouth water.

And there was also the unmistakable scent of _syndrigasti_.

I made to trail after it, but just then the leader entered the loop, too. He shook his head at me and gestured for me to follow him.

He led me to something wholly odd. A building completely encased in ice.

Hundreds of leaders and other Hollows were attacking it, trying to find ways in.

 _Syndrigasti_ were in there. Food.

I pressed against the building. There was Food in there.

 _Is that why I am here?_ the human part of me asked.

The commander of our leaders nodded. He pointed wordlessly to a crack in the ice covering the building.

The meaning was clear once I looked at the tiny crevasse: go inside because you are the only one small enough. Of course the other, _fatter_ Hollowgasts couldn't get through; they'd eaten too many _syndrigasti_.

And of course, I would redeem myself in their eyes.

But could I?

Yes, I could. I had to. There was Food – _syndrigasti_ – in there.

And maybe, _maybe_ I could stop myself in time and get answers.

I dove into the hole.


	6. Ice-olation

**So, Tamara has personality issues, according to my partner. She's so right.**

The inside of the building was just as cold as it looked from the outside. It didn't bother me much, but I hated to think of how tough it would be to navigate the frozen floors.

I heard something. Faint, but growing louder as I headed toward it. Speaking.

I rounded the corner, sliding on the ice. Was there Food?

 _Stop_. I had to get a grip.

Flicking out a long tongue, I tasted the air. The fear of the _syndrigasti_ was prominent.

They were in the room in front of me. Some sort of office.

I slipped inside it. My shadow blended with the darkness so that I was effectively invisible.

There was a small group of them in the center of the room. A girl with long hair. A guy wearing a lot of makeup. More people, and an old ymbryne getting their attention.

Careful to not touch the frosty ice encasing the wall, I edged closer. They were speaking. Words I had to concentrate on to understand.

"…The Wights have been here for days now, but I believe they will give up soon, and then we will attempt to build up the defenses they have demolished again."

I didn't really understand it, but thinking hard, I decided that they were speaking about us. I recalled that the reason I was here was to herd them outside. I wasn't sure what to do.

At once, I realized the voices had stopped abruptly. And Foods – the _syndrigasti_ – were staring at me.

I realized that they had lit a candle, and it was casting my large shadow across the wall.

"They've found a way in!" one of them cried, and immediately thing became a bit more chaotic than I would've liked.

The ymbryne and the others hurried into an icy tunnel at the other end of the room, and the long-haired one faced me.

Instincts took over. I shot out my tentacles, knocking her to the ground, and bolted.

The Hollowgast part of my brain was screaming to fight, but I did not want to hurt someone who could help me. Even if they were Food. I pushed my mind to overcome the urge to devour the girl and raced down the ice-filled hallway.

I passed strange scenes in the ice. Other Hollows, _syndrigasti_ , our leaders… all frozen in place. It occurred to me that we had been battling Food in this loop for a while. When had this happened?

The girl wasn't following me. I slowed down, taking a turn into a frosty corridor.

I was lost.

A Hollow, lost. Imagine the leaders seeing this.

But I had bigger problems. The passage was sealed off by a thick, clear wall of solid ice, depicting a Hollow lashing out at a blood-splattered syndrigast. I looked away.

I was trapped in a giant ice cube. If the girl came after me, I was dead.

 _That's a good thing,_ I told myself. _The more of us that die, the safer the world will be._

"I know you're there."

I whirled. The girl was blocking the exit.

"You will not have a chance to tell the Wights that you are losing," she said. She was a bit eerie, appearing to stare at me even though I knew she couldn't see me. Her face was devoid of emotion, although her voice was very forceful.

I shifted from side to side, agitated.

"You and your allies will go," she went on, spreading her arms. I was no longer listening.

Don't corner a Hollowgast. _Don't corner a Hollowgast._

I shot out a thick black tentacle, silencing her. She was shoved down but came right back up again.

This time she didn't say anything. Instead, she shoved the air in front of her, and a hurricane-force gale of freezing cold slammed into me.

Ah. So that was her power.

As the ice crept up my limbs and I struggled to break free, she nodded to herself, admiring her work, and left the corridor.

A block of ice was covering me now, and the pain of unimaginable cold was beginning to curl around me. I watched helplessly while the ice filled the room, feeling less jumpy and more tormented by the second.

Was I going to survive? Or would I be entombed forever, preserved in ice like the poor _syndrigasti_ and terrible monsters that I had passed minutes ago?

As the ice closed over my head, I heard a voice call, "Althea! Miss Wren has found more peculiars!"

 _Huh…._

My breathing slowed, my thoughts became sluggish, until everything faded out.

 **Other POV**

"They took Miss Canary!" one of the children wailed.

It was true. Evan had unlocked the kids from their handcuffs, and after a brief summary of what had happened, they had noticed the missing ymbryne.

"What do we do? Where do we go?" asked a boy in tears.

Evan thought fast. The children couldn't stay in the loop; it was bound to have slipped. But they couldn't come with him and Tamara. It was hard enough taking care of each other.

"Are there any other loops nearby?" he asked. "Like, that haven't been raided yet?"

" _Yet_ ," grumbled a girl. "But no, none nearby. Miss Canary was talking 'bout how the Wights were storming all the loops, and how there were only two left aside from ours. But now ours is gone." She looked quite upset about this.

Evan didn't know what to say. He couldn't take them into the 21st century because they would just age forward. He and Tamara were from the present day, so they would be fine, but what could they do about Miss Canary's wards?

"Okay," he said decisively, clapping his hands together. "Once Tamara wakes up, we'll head out of the loop. And then we'll go find another loop, quickly."

As if on cue, Tamara let out a groan and sat up off the floor. She tested her arm, surprised to see it was fine, blinked, and said, "I'm not afraid anymore."

Evan stared at her. "Huh?"

She looked up at him, a determined gleam in her eye that he'd never seen before. "The Wights? The Hollowgasts? They're just a bunch of flippin' idiots. And after an experience like that, I don't care anymore. I might die next time, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't change what they are. And where they'll go. Besides, nothing could possibly rattle me more that what's already happened." She took a shaky breath. "So I can't be afraid. Because if I was afraid, I'd be dead."

There was silence. Then, the twelve children broke into applause.

"So inspirational!" cheered the girl who had thrown the bowling ball at the Wight. "So motivating!"

Evan tried to find words, but they were absent. Finally, he stuttered, "Wow. I mean, you were – you sort of – had trouble with danger before."

Tamara shrugged, but inside she was curled up and petrified. "Let's not go looking for any, though. I'm still not sure I can handle more."

He nodded. "Okay."

Tamara waited a bit before adding in a rushed whisper, "But I kind of want to do one last thing before we do anything else."

 **Just to clear something up, the ice-building raid in Althea's backstory happened** ** _before_** **the part where our Hollow friend comes in. And our Hollow comes in before Jacob and Co. get there. And yes, the Hollow is a character from the books.**


	7. Connection

"' _One last thing'_?" Evan repeated after Tamara revealed her plan. "And that's the reason you dragged me out of the apartment? To find the Hollowgast and _talk to it_?" He stomped his foot on the ground angrily.

Tamara winced. She had known he would react this way. "I know you think I'm crazy, but I swear I felt a _connection_ to it. I saw its memories."

Evan rolled his eyes. " _Right_. You _saw_ its _memories_. I really hope you're not turning into one of those monsters."

"Come on!" Tamara snapped. "Please!" Her voice cracked. "I… I can't go without you."

Evan glared at her. She really had lost her marbles if she thought he would go with her to find a _humane_ Hollow. There was no such thing.

"And… and you know that the Hollow left before it could eat me," she reminded quietly. "We could have been dead."

Evan nodded grudgingly. "But I'm not going to go with you," he said.

Tamara lifted her head up, meeting his eye. "Then I'll just leave on my own."

He stared at her. Would she do that? She said she wouldn't go find the Hollow without him, but would she still leave the slipped loop? Would she desert him?

"You can't," he said. "So, fine. I'll go with you. But you are _not_ dragging these poor kids along with you." He pointed at the wide-eyed children who were fearfully and silently watching them.

Tamara sighed. "I know, but where do they go?"

The girl who had healed her spoke up softly. "We can take care of ourselves."

Tamara and Evan simultaneously turned to her.

"Yeah," said a boy with red hair. "Seriously."

Neither Evan nor Tamara wanted to leave the children alone, but they had little choice. "Come on," said Evan to her in a last-ditch attempt. "You don't really want to abandon them, do you?"

Tamara shook her head. "Stop it. We're going. I have to."

Evan let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay. Let's go then."

They said goodbye to the twelve former wards of Miss Canary's and walked out of the loop. Evan hoped the children who had saved his and Tamara's lives would survive. But it was highly unlikely. But it would be worse if they came with them.

"Goodbye," he said to himself as he left the building, which was back to a crumbing ruin.

 **His POV**

Things were foggy… dark, painful, and strangely numb. I was gradually gaining consciousness.

The world slowly came into focus, like blurry binoculars being readjusted. I blinked.

There was someone standing in front of me. It didn't know I was awake.

I couldn't tell what – who – it was. I couldn't think clearly. But I could tell it was different. Different than the other ones.

I stared at the person. It left the room.

Who was that? I didn't think to wonder. Everything was just so scrambled….

I drifted back into oblivion.

 **So Tamara's a jerk. Yep. That's what Love says. Tamara's got** ** _issues_** **... But anyway, don't worry about a thing. I'll sort her out. Hehehehe.**


	8. Surrealism

p class="MsoNormal"strongWell, this chapter is sort of surreal. But that's the way it is in the book. /strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"There was something in my mind. An entity of sorts./em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"It was like my own consciousness, except while I was half monster, this was not a specific thing. It wasn't exactly nothing, though. More like a whisper, speaking to me. /em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I tried to listen. It wrapped around my mind, saying something./em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"And then, all of a sudden, I was free./em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Free of the Hollowgast. /em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"A wave of panic rolled over me, and I felt unbearably cold. What was happening? So many emotions and thoughts raced through my mind that I woke up with a start./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"I looked around. The frozen room was around me. No change./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"I was still a Hollow. The average smell of Food was in the air. I itched to escape my icy prison so I could wrap my tongues around it./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"But the whisper was still in my mind. A name./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Jacob/em./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"There was a connection inside me to the name. I felt a thrill. What if this syndrigast, this person, was responsible for my moment of clear thought? Why?/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"But if this thing could speak to me in my mind, could I communicate back?/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"I tried. The invisible boundaries in my mind stretched./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"I willed it to hear me. Despite my inability to think the way em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"syndrigasti/em do./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Nothing happened, but suddenly the connection burst to life, as though this "Jacob" had heard me./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"I held the mental ties in my mind. And I willed it – em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"him/em – to come./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"The connection grew stronger and stronger, and I felt that he was coming closer./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"I hoped he would be able to help me. And I hoped I wouldn't eat him./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Jacob rounded the corner. He was a syndrigast. Was this his power? To have telepathy with Hollowgasts? I didn't even know if that was a syndrigast ability./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"He was asleep. I tried not to think about how fast I could devour him before he had the chance to wake up./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Maybe it would be better if he awoke. I told him to come closer./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"The ice had melted a bit. He put his hand on my head, still sleeping./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Then he woke up./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"He glanced around, blinking. He must have realized I was there, because he looked at me./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"At em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"me/em./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"He could see me./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"A shout came from the hall, startling me and making me wish my tentacles weren't frozen in ice. Our connection broke like a spider web./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Jacob took his hand off my head as though just becoming aware. He said something to the syndrigast who had called to him./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"He left, leaving me to wonder what em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"exactly/em had just happened./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"Other POV/span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Evan and Tamara headed east. All based on Evan's knowledge, of course./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""I told you, that girl said there were two other loops around. If you seriously want to find that Hollow, then you've got to find a loop. That's what they look for," Evan reminded. "And there happens to be a couple of unknown loops around Europe."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Tamara stamped her foot on the sidewalk. "And how do you suppose we get all the way to em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Europe/em?" she asked./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Evan thought for a moment. "A boat?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Or," said Tamara sarcastically, "we could em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"swim/em." She rolled her eyes. "How do you em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"expect/em we'll travel? But how are we supposed to score a cruise ship pass?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Evan shook his head. "I think we have to go a different way on this. How about a dinghy?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Tamara stared at him, forgetting to walk. "You're serious? Like a rowboat?" she asked./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Evan shrugged. "Pretty much."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""No way."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Think about it," he said. "No one would see us – that means no Wights. We wouldn't have to pay anything, except for rental, and how much could a tiny dinghy possibly cost, anyway? Plus, we get to use our big muscles to row." He mimed working hard to push oars./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Tamara sighed. "Knowing you, I'd be the one to push the oars, and you'd just sit up front as if you were useful." She sighed again. "But really, I don't know what would happen if we tried to cross the Atlantic in a rowboat."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Evan didn't answer. Instead, he said, "There's a boat rental down the street."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Tamara was amazed. "How do you know?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""I led us down this route with the intention of stopping at this place," he replied smugly./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal""Wow," said Tamara. "You really em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"do/em know your way around New York."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"They both grinned and walked down the street to the rental./p 


	9. On the Way

Evan stepped in the door first, letting the broken screen fall back on Tamara.

It was a very rundown place. There were lonely paintings of oceans covering the peeling wooden walls, and the room was crowded with merchandise. Tamara picked up a fisherman figurine holding a sign that read "GONE FISHING" and frowned.

"You really think this is a good idea?"

Evan shrugged. The checkout counter was covered with maps. He picked one up.

"So there are two loops left, right?" he said, beginning to examine it. "Let's see… what do we know about peculiar history, Tamara?"

Tamara looked up from the merchandise. "Um, nothing?"

Evan rolled his eyes. " _Some_ stuff, believe it or not," he said. "Like some European loops. If, once we get to Europe, we can find some of the ones we know about, then we can see if they've been raided or not. Most likely they will have been, but we might be able to find some stragglers." He paused, looking down at the map solemnly. "And then we can find out from them where the other loops are."

The gravity of the situation sunk upon them. They stood in silence for a few moments.

The sound of loud, sudden footsteps made them whirl around. A rail-thin man with a scraggly beard to match his cap was making his way to the front of the room, coming from behind the maze of merchandise. He was whistling a tune, but he stopped when he found the two children standing in his shop.

"Ar'ye here ta buy?" he asked. He was wearing brown suspenders and smelled of mold. Tamara wrinkled her nose.

"Um, yeah," said Evan.

The old man broke into a toothless grin. "Maps're free," he supplied, gesturing to his counter.

Evan and Tamara nodded, still staring at his appearance.

"Do – do you rent boats?" Tamara said tentatively.

The man smiled still wider. "Yes'm. Best in da business. Nowhere else like Ol' Mack's."

Tamara and Evan looked at each other. "I thought you said this was a _dinghy_ rental?" Tamara whispered behind her hand.

The man (Old Mack?) beckoned them down the zigzagging hall of merchandise, leading them to the end of the store. "Tis out back," he said. "Boats go from da lagoon."

He led them out to a dock over the cove. It creaked ominously under their feet.

There were five wooden dinghies tied up to a post in the water. They turned Tamara's stomach.

"One fine craft for on'y twen'y big ones," he said proudly. "In cash, o' course."

" _What?_ " Evan exclaimed. "Twenty dollars?"

The old man nodded. "Plus tax."

Tamara shook her head in disbelief. This was a rip-off. "We only have fifteen," she said.

"Well, tis a shame," said the man, "but I can't jus' let ya have one cheap, ya know."

"Look," sighed Evan, "we've got something important to do in Europe. There's a place we need to get to. And if we don't hurry, it's going to be gone. There are these… monsters. They're chasing us. You have to help."

Tamara's eyes widened. What was he doing? What if the guy was a Wight in disguise?

The old man was quiet for a moment. Finally, he said, "Are ye speakin' of a loop?"

Tamara and Evan were equally shocked.

"How do you –" started Evan.

"What are you –" said Tamara at the same time.

The old man chuckled. It sounded like a dying horse. "Me mother was one o' your folk," he said. "I knows all the stories."

Tamara was the first to realize what this meant. "Does that mean you know what loops are left?" she asked eagerly.

Evan smacked her arm. " _Tamara!_ "

She ignored him. "You're the one who spilled to this guy," she said under her breath.

Evan had actually had a good reason for doing that. He had a whole sob story prepared to build up over the truth, but apparently it wasn't necessary.

"O, ye can bet your gills I know what loops're left," the scraggly man said. His face grew somber. "Two, last I've heard. Peregrine's and Wren's. Me fisher bud came in an hour ago sayin' Canary's just got raided."

"We know," Evan risked, gauging the man's reaction. "We were there."

"Ho!" the man said, stroking his beard. "That _is_ a tale! How may I reward such lucky ta be alive 'culiars?"

It took Evan a moment to decipher the old man's accent, but when he did, he was back on track. "We need to borrow a boat," he said. "And we need to get to Europe."

 **His POV**

I fell asleep again. It wasn't that hard with all the cold.

When I did wake up again, the ice encasing me had melted down to my neck. I could wiggle a few tongues free, but it did me little good.

My mind kept turning back to that syndrigast.

He was named Jacob, I was sure. And he could see me.

That wasn't all. He had a sort of… _bond_ with me. Like we were telepathically connected.

It had to be his power. Every syndrigast had one, I had heard.

I struggled in the ice a bit, out of habit. No change.

I wondered what would happen when I got free. Would the leaders make me try again to capture and kill the _syndrigasti_? I was certain, however, that there was a way to break free.

And that way lay with Jacob.

So I had to find him. And I had to get him to help me.

 **Looks like we're nearing the end! I probably will continue after the end of this once Library of Souls comes out. That way I can wrap up even more than I'm planning to do soon. Next chapter, coming soon!**


	10. Unification

**I do not know how to drive a speedboat.**

 **Also, I came up with a reason for Tamara's personality issues. What is it, you ask? Soon, my pretties, but not now.**

 **Sorry it's so short. From here on, things are about to get connected.**

I slept for a bit more. Nothing changed. Nobody came again. No Jacob.

Once I woke up, I realized that the ice had melted even more, so that I was about halfway free. I would be out of here soon.

Eventually.

But I was bored just sitting here. I swished my partially-free tongues against the ice for a while, watching the fog heat up and fade away.

Yep. Soon.

 **Other POV**

Evan and Tamara said farewell to the old man, who was indeed named Old Mack, and set sail on something far nicer than a dinghy. The man evidently owned a midsize motorboat that he kept under a tarp, because this was what he'd lent them for their trip to Europe.

"There's no way we're getting this back to him," muttered Evan to Tamara as they left the dock.

"Oh, we'll pay him back," said Tamara breezily, reclining in the driver's seat. She surveyed the controls. "So, how do you drive a boat anyway?" she asked.

Evan groaned, slumping in his seat. "Exactly, which is why a rowboat would be so much better," he sighed. "Our plan has so many issues that I'm surprised we're still on track."

Tamara shrugged cheerfully. "We'll see," she said, pressing a few buttons.

Evan threw up his hands. _"'We'll see?'"_ he repeated. "What kind of response is that?"

Tamara was no longer listening. She floated the boat out a bit more, so that they were near the end of the lagoon, and gunned the engine. At once, the boat shot into the open ocean.

"Not so fast!" Evan shouted, steadying himself in his seat.

Tamara suddenly appeared frightened by the controls. "Sorry!" she said. "Maybe you should take a turn?"

Evan shook his head and said, "No way. I'd crash in five minutes." He noticed her wide eyes and softened. "Come on. Just a little slower."

Tamara tried once more. This time, she managed to get the boat to slowly gain speed.

In a moment, they were sailing over the Atlantic Ocean. Evan whooped, letting the salty wind blow back his dirty-blond hair.

"Is this the life or what, Tamara?"

Tamara was too busy steering to answer. She wasn't having fun at all. The sudden fear of sinking had wormed its way into her brain.

"We're doing this to find that Hollow," she reminded, not taking her eyes away from the ocean. _We don't even have a permit!_ "And you _are_ taking a turn doing this. We'll be at sea for at least a day. And yes, I know what you're thinking, we _are_ crazy."

She paused. "Maybe that's how we'll win against the Wights."

 **I swear we'll really talk about Tamara next chapter. Promise. And our Hollow friend is about to get some more screen time, so don't fret.**


	11. One More Step

**Our lovely little peculiars are a bit behind schedule, so this chapter is for them only. Maybe next chapter, too. But don't worry; our Hollowgast friend will be back!**

Evan watched Tamara for the remainder of the trip. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about her. But he couldn't figure out why.

Whatever it was, it couldn't have mattered at the moment, so Evan busied himself with making sandwiches for lunch. He and Tamara ate fast and then switched places at the controls of the motorboat.

It was almost dusk by the time they reached shore. Evan was relieved that they had set out early in the morning, and more than a little surprised that they had reached Europe so fast.

"Land ahoy!" Tamara shouted, laughing. She too was more than happy to arrive.

"Hey, Tamara…" Evan said, surveying the forest-covered beach. "Are you sure we're in Europe already?"

Tamara stopped celebrating. "Well, I'm not sure," she replied slowly. "But where else could we be?"

"Oh, I don't know, an _island_?" Evan said. He anchored the boat. "Let's find out."

He and Tamara waded ashore, ignoring the freezing water soaking their pants. They picked a random direction to walk in, and soon they were heading down the strip of white sand in search of civilization.

"We're not on a deserted island, are we?" Evan voiced as they walked. "Because that would just be _depressing_."

"Worst luck ever," Tamara agreed. "Fortunately, we aren't on one."

She pointed ahead. There was a fence blocking the rest of the beach. Attached to it was a sign that read in big block letters, KEEP OUT. PRIVATE PROPERTY.

"Do we Keep Out?" Evan asked.

Tamara snorted. "What do you think?"

Evan smiled. He decided that there was nothing odd about the way Tamara was acting; she was simply braver than before. That was all.

They hopped the fence, ignoring the warning, and found themselves facing a path into the trees. It was obvious that continuing along the beach was fruitless, so they took the path.

It quickly hardened into a road as they went along, until houses began taking trees' places. Soon Evan and Tamara were standing in the middle of a small vacation town.

Since it was not very warm out, there were very few people home. Tamara leading the way, they walked down empty streets.

"What are we looking for again?" Evan asked.

Tamara scanned the neighborhood. "I have no idea."

What if they were stuck? Tamara couldn't bear to think what would happen.

"You know, there is no way we will make it to Europe," she whispered.

Evan knew it too, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he focused on the deserted street.

Suddenly, he cried, "Bingo!" and pointed.

Tamara looked up. A few blocks down was a stretch of fenced-in gray. She blinked before realizing what it was.

"An airport?"

"A _private_ airport," Evan said excitedly. "Which means we can go in low-key. I'm not sure how those things work, but we'll surely have better luck with this than a boat or big airport. Come on," he said, running down the street.

Tamara followed. Did he really know what a private airport was like? Somehow Tamara doubted they could just waltz inside, snag a pilot, and borrow a plane.

But Evan was already ahead. With a sigh, she followed him to the airport.

 _Later_ ….

"Can we borrow a plane?"

Tamara wanted to smack him, but it was too late. The man standing in the doorway looking blearily at Evan had heard him.

"Uh, you realize I've got only one of them?" the man said, rubbing his eyes. He had a cup of coffee in one hand.

"We need to get to Europe," Evan said earnestly. "Our youngest aunt is getting married tomorrow."

And Tamara thought Evan was supposed to be the realistic one.

The pilot was too tired to question the story. Instead, he asked drowsily, "How much do you got?"

Evan tilted his head and glanced at Tamara. She mouthed, _Money_.

"Oh. Um, two hundred," Evan fibbed. He hoped the man would ask for payment _after_ the trip.

The pilot looked mildly surprised. He scratched his head. "Uh, wow. You sorta look like kids. I can't tell." He squinted groggily at them. "But I'm sorry, I can't pilot a plane this late at night. Come back in morning."

As he made to close the door, Evan said, "You promise to take us to Europe, right?"

The man nodded sleepily and closed the door.

"That was close," breathed Tamara. "If he wasn't half-asleep, we'd be goners."

Evan felt as though his knees were about to give out. "Yeah, but we have to hope that same luck is with us in the morning. And we need a place to sleep."

Tamara glanced around the dark airstrip. "How about that garage?" she asked.

The pilot had a car as well as a private jet, it seemed. His two-car detached garage housed a bright red convertible.

But there was room for another car. Or two exhausted children.

Tamara and Evan crept into the open garage. There was no keypad on the door; who would steal from a rich man on an empty island?

In the darkness, Evan and Tamara lay down on top of whatever open space they could. Tamara's head brushed a spare tire and Evan's back was against something slimy, but they were finally resting.

"Tamara?" Evan said softly.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you want to go to Europe? Just to track some random Hollow?"

Evan heard her sigh. "It's too late to turn back now. And something tells me I have to find it."

Evan didn't push her. After a moment of silence, he added, "I looked at a map this morning at the boat rental. I remembered something Miss Canary told us once, when she was trying to get us to live with them. She said where Miss Wren's loop was." He paused. "Do you remember that?"

"No," Tamara responded.

"Well, she said Miss Wren's loop is by the London Underground." Evan shifted, removing an object that had been poking him in the back. "So that's where we'll go. Okay?"

"Yeah," Tamara murmured, drifting off.

"Good." Evan hoped, truly hoped, that it was smooth sailing from here on out.

He was entirely wrong.

Later that night, when Evan had long since fallen asleep, Tamara woke up in shivers. She twisted and turned on the ground, sweating hard.

 _You have to._

 _You have to._

 _YOU HAVE TO._

Tamara woke up breathless. She couldn't collect herself. It was all too hard.

"Let go of me," she whispered, barely audible.

Whatever it was sank back into her, and she collapsed, not remembering anything the next day.


	12. Hollow Souls

**I'm sure you're just so anxious to find out what the deal is with Tamara. And you're going to stay that way for another chapter or so. Mwah!**

The pilot was very confused in the morning. He had so many questions and no good reason to take two unsupervised kids across the Atlantic. But there was money promised to him.

"Where to?" he asked after receiving answers to all of his questions. He didn't need to know that all their answers were false.

Evan and Tamara shared a look before Evan answered, "London?"

The pilot shrugged. "And you're sure your parents will meet you there?"

The kids nodded. "We always travel alone," Tamara fibbed. "This is the only time we got lost."

"Thanks so much for helping," added Evan.

The pilot raised an eyebrow, but the promise of money kept him quiet. "You're in luck, kids, but I hope you never get lost again."

They just smiled and nodded, and in minutes were comfortably seated inside the luxury private jet.

After the standard procedures for takeoff, Tamara chanced to talk to Evan.

"We're going to make it to the loop before the Wights, right?" she whispered.

"Shh!" Evan hissed. Glancing around to make sure the pilot couldn't hear from inside the cockpit, he continued in a monotone, "And I don't know. We'll have to just see when we get there."

Tamara twisted one of the plush pillows on her seat nervously. What was the point of finding one of the last remaining loops, anyway? It wasn't like they would locate the Hollow there. Speaking of it, Tamara had been having the strangest feeling about that Hollowgast….

"I really don't want to repeat our last encounter with the Wights," Evan said unexpectedly.

Tamara sat up. "Huh?"

"I don't," he said. "So we have to be extra careful, okay?"

Tamara nodded.

Suddenly, the intercom crackled to life. " _We're landing, kids. Buckle up and stay in your seats."_

Tamara and Evan did as he said, and soon the plane had landed in one of London's private airports.

"Should we leave?" Evan asked once the pilot came into the back to check on them.

The pilot frowned. "I think you should wait for your parents. Also, they need to compensate me."

"Uh, about that…" Tamara said, taking off in the opposite direction, Evan in tow.

"HEY!" the pilot shouted from behind them, but they didn't look back.

Dodging and weaving between various obstacles on the airfield, Tamara and Evan ran like they'd never run before. It was not long before both of them were puffing hard and running out of steam.

"Where – should – we – go?" Evan panted, his face red.

Tamara didn't waste words. She pointed to the exit of the airport. Guards were on their way. "Hurry!"

Evan put on a burst of speed, even as his vision dimmed and his lungs felt as though they would explode. They were almost there… almost….

And then they were through the gate. Tamara kept going, pulling Evan along. Come on….

Guards were chasing them. Evan couldn't hold on much longer.

"Evan!" Tamara screamed, wasting her last breath.

Evan couldn't do it. His knees buckled and he sank down onto the pavement.

They were goners. Tamara glanced back, collapsing next to him, waiting for the police to come….

Only they didn't. Evan and Tamara had outrun them.

Tamara felt a rush of giddy excitement. "We – did it!" she gasped, laughing.

Evan was too busy sucking in air to answer. But after a moment, he stood up shakily.

"Yeah," he wheezed, "and guess what? We're here."

He pointed to the crowded stairs leading down, looking practically just like a New York subway entrance.

Tamara got to her feet as well. "You're right," she said. "It's the London Underground."

 **His POV**

There were sudden noises. Screaming. Shouting.

I couldn't tell what was happening. But somehow, from the sinking feeling in my stomach, I could tell that the leaders had broken through the ice building.

Something was happening. More sounds.

Then I felt a burning, tingling sensation. I looked down.

It took my sluggish brain a moment to process what was happening.

The ice was thawing.

It wasn't just melting on me; it was dripping down from the ceiling and walls, faster and faster, until I was flailing in a pool of freezing liquid that slowly seeped out through the cracks in the room. _What on earth?_

I struggled as the feeling came back into my numb limbs. Something had just happened. Was the peculiar named Jacob safe? Somehow I felt that he was important. I needed him to help me.

In seconds, the ice had completely melted. I lay on the floor, too weak to move.

Pain. The pain amplified from unfreezing until I went wild.

I had to get out of here. The leaders would try and find me. They would be angry.

I had to leave. As soon as I recovered.

Immediately.


	13. The Underground

**Sorry if I'm late, I've been on vacation. And I'm going on vacation again soon. So enjoy; we're nearing the end.**

The numbness gradually drained from my limbs, leaving burning agony in its place.

I lashed my tongues. No escape from pain. There was only one way to do that.

But I couldn't. I couldn't eat a syndrigast. I couldn't.

But my legs moved of their own accord, and I found myself following the fading smell of Food.

Jacob the syndrigast was there. I had to find him.

But would I eat him when I found him? I didn't know.

The pain had lessened. I could think more clearly now. I exited the now-melted ice building, ready for the hunt.

Food – the _syndrigasti_ – was nearby. Leaving fast, but the smell lingered. They were exiting the loop, or something of the sort.

I caught a whiff of something else. Something mixed with _syndrigasti_.

My leaders.

I had to hurry. If I wanted to reach Jacob, I had to get there fast.

 **Other POV**

Tamara and Evan hurried down into the Underground's entrance. Time was of the essence, as Evan liked to say.

The Underground didn't look particularly magical. There were seats and murals and just about everything you would expect to find in a regular subway station, except everything seemed somehow… _rounder_. A brightly colored train was just leaving the station.

"So, what are we doing, Tamara?" Evan asked, still breathing hard from their earlier escapade. "Since you seem to have _everything_ figured out."

Tamara shrugged, glancing around the semi-empty platform. She looked uncertain.

"I… don't know. The Hollow's here, though."

Evan looked up, startled. "How do you know that?"

Tamara blinked. "Um, I'm not sure," she said. "It's kind of a feeling."

It was actually more than that. Tamara didn't know what exactly, but she had a feeling that the Hollowgast was here, at the London loop. Tamara didn't have time to puzzle over how she knew this, though. They had to find the loop.

"Do you think it's raided yet?" she asked worriedly.

Her confidence seemed to have taken a dive recently. Evan had no idea why, but she'd been going back and forth a lot lately.

"I don't –" he started, but before he could finish, Tamara's question was answered.

Just as some more people entered the station, a smaller crowd came in seemingly through the tunnel.

Tamara's and Evan's blood simultaneously turned to ice. Some of the people in the crowd had gleaming white eyes.

"We should run," Tamara said in a harsh whisper. "We're too late. The loop's been raided. We need to hide. I can't go through that again."

"Get a grip!" Evan said. "We need to do something. Look!"

He tilted his head towards the crowd; while some of them were Wights, most were kids in handcuffs.

"What're we supposed to _do_?" Tamara asked, crossing her arms. "They're monsters. Maybe they were peculiars once, but they're still monsters. And I – I just can't –"

Tears began rolling down her cheeks.

Evan stared at her, alarmed. "Calm down. It's fine." Inside, though, he was wondering where the other, determined side of her was. "Look, it's not too late. We still have some tricks up our sleeves."

Tamara looked at him, not comprehending.

He looked back at her.

"Oh! Right!" she exclaimed, drying her eyes with her sleeve. A few passing people glanced at her.

"Shh!" Evan reminded, peeking at the Wights over Tamara's shoulder. They hadn't heard her outburst, which was good. "Okay. You take out the ones that look like police officers, I'll get the other ones."

Tamara nodded hopefully, but as she levitated a bench from across the slowly crowding platform, her face fell. "They're holding guns." It was true, although hard to see.

"Oh," said Evan, putting down his hands that had been charging with electricity. He had to come up with a new plan. But a new plan wasn't coming to him….

"They're moving this way," Tamara warned urgently. "We have to go. Now."

Evan nodded, defeated. There was no way to help, not without getting someone shot.

They drew into the shadows of the platform, watching as the Wights led Miss Wren's wards to a train that had entered the station. The Wights cleared out a car and led the peculiars inside.

"I can't look," Tamara whimpered, hiding behind her hands.

Evan couldn't help but watch, though, as some peculiars tried to escape and the Wights began shooting. There were screams, and the normal people stampeded out of the Underground.

"We have to get out of here," Evan said, dragging Tamara along the wall, closer to the tunnel.

"But aren't there more of them inside the loop?" she replied, stumbling after him.

"We can't stay out here." Evan led the way inside the tunnel. The last thing they heard before entering the loop was one loud, final gunshot.


	14. Entwined

**I believe there is one or two chapters left. Time flies, right?**

The old London was pretty different. Instead of electric signs and escalators, there were bulletin boards and staircases crowded with people.

Evan glanced around, lost for a moment before pulling Tamara up the stairs. Anyone could be a Wight, _anyone_ ….

He came to a halt at the top of the stairwell. Tamara peered around him.

"Keep moving! We've got to escape…."

Her voice died in her throat when she saw what he was looking at.

Directly in front of them was a building. That in itself was not odd, but the water gushing out of every window was enough to make both children pause.

Tamara was quiet awhile, before asking, "What should we do?"

"That's gotta be Miss Wren's building," said Evan in a whisper, not taking his eyes off the structure. "That means the Wights will be all over the place. So we've got to get around them, with a route that's not in the open."

He glanced at Tamara to make sure she'd understood, and she nodded.

"A plan?"

Evan thought for a moment. "Let's go around, by the tents, and edge along the wall. Okay?"

Tamara nodded again. Not that anything was okay.

Evan counted down, "Three, two, one…."

And they were off, dodging circus performers and villagers as they raced through the crowd. Tamara stumbled once, but Evan grabbed her sleeve and pulled her along.

They made it to the wall in about ten seconds flat, but to get to the building they had to cross in full view of any Wights that might have been watching.

Evan crossed first, running hard and hoping that no one would notice him. He shrunk into the shadows, beckoning for Tamara to follow.

She did, sprinting fast.

But then, halfway across, she collapsed.

Evan blinked, thinking she'd tripped. But when she didn't stumble back to her feet, his veins turned to ice.

He dashed out into the open, staring at her. What had happened?

She wasn't moving, so he painstakingly pulled her five feet to the left, where the shadows effectively covered them.

Evan peeked at the crowd. No one seemed to have noticed them.

He turned his attention back to Tamara, facing away from the horde of people. His mind repeated what he'd wondered seconds ago: what had happened?

 **His POV**

Jacob wasn't outside. I figured he was outside the loop by now, so I headed out into the market space.

The smells in the air bordered on panic, making me relax. Maybe I could stop for a snack.

 _Focus_ , I told myself. There was no way I could ever eat someone. I _wouldn't_.

I had to save my shreds of humanity.

Ignoring the enchanting scents of easy prey, I focused hard on the fading smells of _syndrigasti_.

Except they weren't fading.

I sniffed the air, lashing out my thick black tentacles. Someone was still in the loop.

I'd smelled it once before. That meant I'd come across this specific syndrigast before.

It took mere seconds for me to find the syndrigast. Two of them, actually.

I recognized the girl instantly. She was the one who had helped me somehow regain my memories. Maybe she could help me regain my senses, too.

The other Food – _person_ – wasn't looking my way. He was bending over the girl, looking concerned. She was unconscious.

This girl could help me, I could feel it. I came closer, spreading my tongues to the side to block them from possibly escaping.

And then I heard her voice.

It was soft, inside my head. She was confused, maybe more than I was.

"H-hello? Where am I?"

I just stared at her limp form, wondering where her voice was coming from.

"I-I don't know," she said. Could she hear my thoughts?

"What thoughts? Aren't you talking?" she whimpered. "What's going on?"

I didn't have an answer, but at that moment, the boy syndrigast turned around.


	15. Going Down

**This chapter is really, really,** ** _really_** **short, I know. But it's the climax, so it's allowed to be that way. Plus, in my opinion it is a good chapter. So lose-win-win. Yay!**

The boy of course couldn't see me, but something (possibly my odor) alerted him to my presence. Once he noticed the shadow, everything went downhill.

First his eyes widened. Then he spread his arms for some reason. To shield the girl? As if he could stop me.

But I wasn't here to hurt them. I advanced, all the while asking the girl, _How are you in my head?_

"I don't know!" she cried, frightened. I noticed for the first time that when she spoke, her mouth didn't move. I also realized she was unconscious.

"I'm _what_?" she shouted, making me wince.

 _Unconscious_ , I repeated aloud. I glanced at her crumpled form from behind the boy.

"Is that me?"

I guessed she could see what I could, since she was in my head and all.

Another thought struck me: we were communicating.

But there was no time to pursue that realization. The boy needed my full attention.

"Don't come any closer!" he warned, not even close to threateningly.

I lashed my tongues at him purely out of habit.

But I quickly regretted it. He zapped me with a white bolt of electricity, and I snapped back.

Syndrigasti _have powers. This one can control energy._

"I can levitate stuff," the girl remarked inside my head. "But I have no idea what's going on now."

"Stop!" shouted the boy in front of me, but the smell of fear was increasing.

I held out on my instincts to take him apart and focused on the girl's voice. She was saying something about what he was probably thinking.

"He thinks he's going to die."

 **Other POV**

Evan was going to die.

He had no time to worry about Tamara, no time to wonder what on earth happened to her. All he knew was that, without him between her and the Hollow, she would definitely die, if she hadn't already.

 _Don't think like that._ He faced the monstrous shadow in front of him, calculating whether he could stab it in the eyes or not.

But he didn't even know where its eyes were.

Evan stared at the shadow. It was hopeless. There was absolutely no way he could survive without Tamara being awake to help.

It would take a miracle to save even one of them now.

 **His POV**

I couldn't promise her that he _wouldn't_ die. He did look appetizing.

 _Stop it._

"You're _not_ eating my friend," the girl deadpanned.

Okay. I faced the boy. He was charging his powers, lightning crackling behind his eyes.

Speaking of his eyes, I didn't like the look in them. The girl seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

"He looks like he's about to do something stupid."

I wouldn't have put it like that, but she was right. He had the expression that said, "If I go down, you're coming with me."

I backed away a bit.

But not far enough.

"EAAAGGHHH!"

 **Other POV**

Evan let loose the most powerful electric charge he'd ever created.


	16. Comunication

Tamara woke up.

"Are we alive?" she asked wildly, shooting to her feet.

Nobody was able to answer her. Evan had collapsed from exhaustion, and the Hollowgast was staggering around in a jumble of electrified thoughts.

Tamara blinked. Was she still hearing the Hollow?

Yes, she was. But it didn't seem to hear her.

 **His POV**

The electric blast kind of scrambled me.

I might be understating it. It was more like, THAT FOOD JUST BLASTED ME AND NOW I'M GOING TO EAT IT NO MATTER WHAT.

And it didn't help that the girl seemed to be electrocuted right out of my mind.

Now I had no anchor to sanity. My remaining patience and humanity was gone.

I growled. (I don't know if you know this, but Hollows generally do not growl. The point of invisibility is stealth, and growling isn't very stealthy.)

The Food was knocked out. Easier for me.

Meanwhile, the other Food, the girl, was coming to. She looked up, almost straight at me, and I heard her voice.

Stop it. Right now.

But the electrocution made me frazzled. I lashed out my tentacles, grabbing the boy and pulling him to me. Finally, after a century of agonizing hunger, I was getting a meal.

STOP IT!

I halted. _No_ , I thought back to her.

But yes. She stared above my shadow, and I stared back, unable to move. I could feel her mentally searching my mind for something.

A memory.

She dragged it to the front of my mind, where I could see it.

The memory was calming. Back when I was a living person, a human. It drew my human side from the corner of my brain and put it in charge.

I dropped the boy. Quick as lightning, the girl pulled him back into the corner with her.

She looked at me.

I wanted desperately to get her to help me. The scientific part of my brain wanted to understand what happened, but sometimes things are just left unexplained.

That's not how the girl felt, though. Casting a desperate look at the unconscious boy, she said in human and in my mind, " _We need to go somewhere safe. And we need to talk._ "

 **Probably the shortest chapter ever, I know. But next chapter Will Be Longer. And things will be revealed, of course!**


	17. Logically Speaking

**There will be a few more chapters than I anticipated. This one was very hard to write, and I apologize for it. Honestly, I have no idea what to do next. But I will work on it.**

 **Hopefully, I will get this story done on time, before the release of** ** _Library of Souls_** **. See you next chapter!**

Evan woke to Tamara leaning over him.

"Are you okay?" he mumbled, recalling when she had fainted.

"The question is, are _you_ okay?" she said, helping him to his feet. "Do you remember what happened?"

Evan looked around; they were in a dark room. Puddles were everywhere.

"Yeah, I think," he said. "But we… we were about to get eaten. What happened?" _And why did you faint?_

Tamara didn't answer immediately. She avoided his eyes.

"Well?" he prompted, beginning to have a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"I fainted because the Hollow came," she said at last. "I don't know why. But before I continue, do you promise to believe me?"

Evan frowned. "Sure." Inside, though, he wasn't so certain. Tamara wasn't usually too reliable.

"Stop it!" she shouted. She covered her mouth.

Evan blinked. "H-huh?" Did she just –

"I…" she said, "I sort of can read minds now."

"That's crazy, Tamara," Evan said, unable to wrap his mind around it. "P-peculiars only get one power. We talked about this."

"But it's true!" she protested. "And – and it started with the Hollow."

She told him the whole story. About waking up to find herself inside a different being. About communicating telepathically and speaking to the Hollowgast. About getting electrocuted and being shocked right back into her own body, plus the mind powers.

At the very end, she concluded with, "Can you help? You're smart; I need to know how all this happened."

Evan took a moment to digest everything he'd just heard. A good Hollow? Unlikely. But he pushed these doubts aside and answered, "I don't know. This is crazy."

"I _know_ ," Tamara said with a hint of exasperation in her voice.

"But," Evan went on, "now that you've told me all this, we can figure it out." He thought for a few seconds. "I'd say that the Hollow making you become telepathic has something to do with the Hollow. It probably has some sort of relation to you as well."

"Evan?" Tamara said. "You're logic is confusing me."

"Good to know." He continued speaking. "So maybe you're related to it somehow. If what you say about it once being some innocent person is true, then it could be, like, you're great-great uncle or something."

"Now it's scaring me."

Evan rolled his eyes. "Relax, I don't know anything for sure."

"But how _do_ we know?" Tamara said.

Evan shrugged.

A thought struck him. "Where is your totally-not-evil Hollow, anyway?"

 **His POV**

I was in the room with them.

The girl told me to stay. I wasn't sure I could resist my appetite, but somehow, I did.

They did a lot of yakking. It was terribly boring.

But everything they said, the girl repeated in my mind more interestingly. It was strange. They were talking about theories, but they had no real proof for anything they said. There wasn't really a way to get proof, in any case.

I jumped up when I heard the girl's voice in my head: _Come on!_

Uh-oh. The penny had dropped.

I came forward, knowing the girl was about to make the boy very angry. According to her, it was one of her many talents.

Hopefully, they'd get answers soon. And evidence. The girl said she'd die from the real-life cliffhanger if they didn't.

What I didn't know was that answers would come sooner than I thought.

 **My partner, Love, has never heard of the idiom I used in this chapter. And she called it a metaphor. Weirdo.**


	18. Recollection

**Sorry it took so long! I was having immense writer's block, but I'm back! And I know this chapter's short, but it's good, trust me. Unless my partner is lying.**

 **Ignore that last part. I'm sure she told the truth... right...**

The boy whirled around, a look of terror on his face.

I paused. Was I really that terrifying?

 _He's just surprised_ , the girl reassured. I didn't know who she was kidding.

"What the heck, Tamara!" the boy hissed, scrambling backward without taking his eyes off my shadow. He seemed to be getting over his surprise fast, though; now he looked angry. "First you keep stuff from me, now you're hiding a killing machine in the very room that we're standing in –"

 _"_ _Calm down!_ " she snapped with startling force, her voice reverberating in the waterlogged room.

Everything seemed to freeze while she composed herself. The boy just stared at her.

"I mean," she continued evenly, "we need to take a deep breath and understand each other right now. I don't have all the answers, and neither do you, but maybe we can just try to figure things out. Okay?"

The boy looked daggers at her, and I thought he was at his boiling point, but he simply said, "Fine."

The girl took a deep, trembling breath. "Okay. Hollow, my name is Tamara, and this is Evan."

I cocked my head. What was a name?

The girl sighed. "You have got to be kidding me."

"What?" asked the boy.

She glanced from me to him. "He doesn't know what a name is."

The boy blinked. "You're joking."

I watched this exchange, feeling frustrated. So what if I didn't know some random word? I could still bite off their heads in under two seconds.

The girl heard this and stopped grinning. "Are you sure you don't know what a name is?" she inquired.

I concentrated (which is hard for a Hollow to do, in case you didn't know). It was there, the word, in my mind, but I couldn't drag it into the light.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Please, let me."

As though reaching a hand into my mind, she raised one arm, mentally plucked a thought from the recesses of my ravaged memories, and made me remember the word "names".

Wow. _You're names. Your names are Tamara and Evan_ , I said.

"What's it – what's it saying?" the boy named Evan said fearfully. Evan. A name. I could call them by names.

The girl smiled. Tamara. The name of the one who could read my mind. The one who could help me. Tamara.

"It's a _he_ , Evan," she said. "And he's just learning our names."

 _Names_ , I said again. I wondered if buildings could have names. Or trees. Or Wights.

Suddenly my happiness drained away. I was a monster, like a Wight. And I didn't have a name.

Tamara frowned at me. "One sec," she said, gaining a confused look from Evan.

She reached into my mind again. This time, she was looking farther back, to a time when I couldn't even recall.

And she pulled out another word.

Peter.

I blinked. _Was that my name?_ I asked.

Tamara nodded slowly. "Yes, I think." To the terribly confused Evan, she added, "I think our Hollow's name is Peter."

I sat there, stunned. For a moment, the normal torturous agony of being a Hollowgast didn't affect me, and I was a person in my mind. I had been a real person years ago. I had a name.

Peter.

 _Thank you_ , I said to the girl. _Thank you._


	19. The Dreamscape

**Woo-hoo! This is it (I think)! The second-to-last chapter! Chaptah 19! The 1500-word slammer! Yeah... I'll just stop now.**

Tamara wiped her eyes on her shirt and got back to business. "Okay," she said. "Let's return to the matter at hand, as my mother would say."

Evan tilted his head. He'd never heard her voluntarily speak about her mother.

The Hollow's shadow (barely _seven feet_ away from him!) shifted slightly. Evan unconsciously scooted farther away from it.

"Tamara?" he said. "What exactly is the 'matter at hand'?"

She frowned at him. "I need to know why I can talk to Peter, of course. It just… it doesn't make sense. There's got to be a reason I can read minds. I just have this feeling."

She looked so determined to believe it, that Evan couldn't argue.

"All right," he sighed. "But –"

And then both of them heard a voice, not the Hollow's, not their own.

 _You are right,_ it said.

Evan's jaw didn't have time to drop. Suddenly the world was spinning, Tamara was shuddering, dropping to the floor, and Evan immediately began to lose consciousness.

He managed to scream right before everything turned black.

 **His POV**

I had been trying to pull myself together before the chaos happened.

I just couldn't get over it. _Peter_. That was my name. And I couldn't thank the girl, Tamara, enough.

She was talking again, back to the so-called mystery of her telekinetic powers, but I wasn't really paying attention. The euphoria of having an actual identity was running circles in my mind.

 _Join the conversation_ , Tamara coaxed. I only nodded absently.

And then, of course, things went wrong.

I noticed it only because the talking, like gnats in my ears, had stopped. Tamara suddenly began to shudder uncontrollably, falling to the floor, and I realized she had fainted. But she continued to shake on the ground.

The boy, Evan, collapsed as well, but he wasn't shaking like her. His eyes had rolled up into his head, and he let out a scream that petered out when he fell unconscious.

I watched in horror as Tamara quaked on the sodden floor of the abandoned room, until she stopped so suddenly I thought for one terrible moment that she had died.

Then she began to speak.

"Stop it," she gasped, muscles rigid. " _Please_."

There was a pause, and while I was deciding how to help her, she shuddered once more, and whispered, "Evan?"

I glanced nervously at the crumpled boy. He didn't move.

Tamara's eyes squeezed shut. "I did it," she said, her voice strained. "I did it like you said. Please let go."

I felt a shiver. The part of my brain that wasn't a Hollow knew that something fishy was going on.

What was it? I thought as hard as possible until my head hurt. Meanwhile, Tamara suddenly relaxed like a weight had been taken off her shoulders.

"Thank you," she murmured, and said no more.

 **Other POV**

What exactly was going on inside Tamara's brain, you wonder? Evan knew.

He knew because he solidified inside her dreamscape.

At first he was confused. Then he remembered what had happened. And then he cursed very colorfully.

What the heck made him and Tamara pass out like that? Was some stupid supernatural power at work? What if the Hollow had somehow lulled them into a false sense of security, made them fall unconscious, and was now feasting on their souls?

No, Evan realized, Hollows were too brainless to pull that off. So something else was going on.

He took stock of the area around him. It was a literal blank canvass. The entire space was empty.

Well, except for the two people, lying motionless in midair.

The first Evan recognized instantly: Tamara. But the second, who was floating right above her, looked like no human he'd ever seen before.

Its appearance was strangely blank, like their surroundings. Sure, it had normal features, but they seemed almost… too normal. Evan felt as though he could see it, but he couldn't _see_ it. He couldn't tell if it had brown hair, blonde hair, or no hair, but at the same time he was looking right at it.

At that moment, the figure sat up. _Come_ , it said, seemingly to Evan.

Evan wasn't sure how he could come. After all, technically there was no floor to walk on.

The figure seemed to chuckle. _It is quite a puzzle,_ it said, _but that is the nature of the peculiar mind. Ignore the set rules of the universe, and you can successfully navigate this realm._

Evan wasn't eager to disregard everything he knew. And he definitely wasn't eager to trust this strange being.

 _I am not all that strange. I have been communicating with young Tamara for quite a while. She does not find me strange, only peculiar._

It chuckled again at its little joke. Evan was starting to really not like this thing.

"What did you do to her?" he asked angrily.

The person turned serious. _I assure you, I did not harm her. She was merely following what I say to her._

"You've – you've possessed her?"

 _In a way,_ it responded. _But it was for an important cause._

"Yeah, like what?" Evan snapped.

 _Justice, my dear boy. Don't you care about justice?_

Evan pretended to think. "No, not really."

The figure was not amused. _Yes, you do. I can see it in your mind._

Evan's heart stopped beating while he processed this. "Wait. You can read minds?"

The person seemed to smile, but it might have been a trick of the dreamscape. _Yes_.

"And – and did you give Tamara that power?"

 _Yes._

Evan blinked a few times. Wow. That answered _that_ question.

But there was something else he had to ask. "Why?"

The entity took a deep breath, and for a moment, it seemed to grow clearer. _Hm. Why? Well, we spirits are meant to help the world._

 _Spirits?_ Evan wondered.

 _Yes, spirits. I was tasked with serving justice. I put criminals away, brought evidence to light in court, yada, yada, yada. But I have had trouble working to help the syndrigast community. Wights are… a powerful force._

 _But then I overheard the story of your Hollowgast. Tragic, it was. A young boy, at least a century ago, forced to work with the rogue peculiars in the creation of those demons._

 _I was not able to help until recent years. And then I found young Tamara. She was unwilling, with an irrational fear of Hollowgasts. But I managed to… convince her to help. I guided her, despite her feelings on the matter. I gave her strength. And it was all for justice, for a boy who had not done anything wrong._

Evan floated in the dreamscape, stunned. He felt overloaded. The backstory of the Hollow, the revelation that ghosts existed, and the answers to Tamara's questions were doing back-flips in his head.

"But… is she okay?" he managed, eyes glazed over.

The spirit nodded. _Of course. But now I must leave. Fate decrees that things must take their own course from now on. It is no longer in my hands if your Hollowgast lives or dies. But I desire for appropriate justice to be served._

"Okay…" Evan murmured.

 _Take care of Tamara,_ it added as its voice began to fade away. _And live to serve justice…._

And then it was gone. Evan snapped out of his trance, glancing around. He didn't have to wait in silence for too long, though. The sleeping form of Tamara suddenly sat upright, eyes wide.

"Is it gone?" she quavered, staring straight at Evan.

"Yeah," he stammered. "Are you okay?"

Tamara took deep breaths. "I was listening, you know," she said.

"To… to our conversation?" Evan asked.

Tamara's eyes filled with tears. "Sort of," she said. "I was asleep, but also… not. And Evan, I just want to say, I'm so sorry!"

Although there was technically no floor (to Evan's irritation), she ran over to him and hugged him tightly.

"Uh, sorry for what?" he inquired, trying to keep his footing (even though _there was no floor_ ).

Tamara blinked back the tears. "Everything," she breathed. "Not really knowing about the ghost, not noticing what I was doing, not wanting to help poor Peter. But I _do_ now. I just –"

"It's okay," Evan said soothingly, patting her hair. "It's okay."

After a while, when Tamara's sobs had eased into sniffles, he asked, "Was it really you, though? I mean, on this whole adventure, were you really you, or the ghost?" He didn't want to sound afraid of the answer, but he was.

Tamara noticed. Somehow, though, she managed not to burst into tears again. "It was sort of half and half, but I swear it was me, even if I was being influenced. I promise, Evan. Don't worry. I was always there with you. Don't worry."

Both of them were shaking, but while they embraced each other, everything seemed all right.

Evan smiled. "Should we try and wake up now, then?" he asked.

Tamara nodded, closing her eyes. "Yes, we should."

 **Sorry if this was a confusing chapter, or not very canon, or whatever. And I hope I answered any questions you may or may not have had.**

 **Also, about the ghost: is the description confusing? Well, think of it as picturing a book character in your mind. You don't know what they look like, only they look like** ** _them_** **. That's what the ghost looked like to Evan.**


	20. Torment and Solace

**Thank you if you've read this far. I know that this fanfic stinks, but it's done now. Thank you. Now in a few days go get the third book when it's released.**

 **Just to make this clear, I know that none of this will line up with that next book. And that's okay. No matter what happens to my Hollow, it's okay.**

 **I never owned Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.**

Tamara opened her eyes to the gloomy, damp, abandoned room. She rolled onto her stomach and lifted herself up, only shaking slightly.

The Hollowgast's thoughts became suddenly clear to her. In short, he was thinking _, What the heck just happened, and are you okay?_

Ah. The phantom's powers had stayed with her, then.

Tamara beamed a reassuring message back to him. After he had calmed down considerably, she turned to Evan, who had woken along with her.

"We should explain this to Peter," she said to him.

Evan hadn't sat up yet. He was breathing hard, but he raised himself to look at her. "Okay," he wheezed. "Go ahead."

For once, Tamara noted with satisfaction, he wasn't making an effort to stay away from the menacing shadow.

She sat cross-legged on the soaked floor. And she began to tell their story.

 **His POV**

It was shocking, to say the least.

Sure, I was relieved they were all right. All the same, _Syndrigasti_ were one thing. But spirits were a whole separate level of insanity.

Yet I believed them. Somehow everything Tamara said just made sense.

When she was done, out of breath and exhausted, I asked her a question: _what do we do now?_

Tamara looked at the space above my shadow inquisitively. "Huh," she said.

Evan cocked his head. "What?"

She frowned thoughtfully. "Nothing." To me, she said, _I wish we could do something. You deserve to be a person again. They shouldn't have taken your life from you._

I was happy she cared about me, but she was wrong. I _did_ deserve this. I'd killed many humans before. No _syndrigasti_ , true, but I'd still killed. That was unforgivable.

 _Cut it out_ , Tamara snapped. _That was the Hollow part of you. Not the real you._

I nodded, knowing she couldn't see me and knowing she could tell I didn't believe her.

"You can't just stay a Hollow forever," she said desperately aloud.

"There has to be _something_ we can do to help," Evan agreed. I realized for the first time that Tamara must have been relaying our conversation to him in her mind.

I looked at their small human faces. They couldn't see me, shouldn't trust me, but they were helping me anyway. And that made me wonder if I actually _could_ be saved.

There's this syndrigast, I said out loud.

 _Peculiar_ , Tamara corrected.

I frowned. What was peculiar?

"No, that's what they're called," elaborated Evan, smiling. Tamara was somehow still telling him what was going on.

I shook my head to clear it. Whatever.

So there's this peculiar syndrigast, I continued. His name is Jacob.

And he can see me.

Tamara let out a gasp. "Wow," she breathed. Nothing else needed to be said.

Maybe he can help me, I went on. He's still in the Underground. I can smell him.

Evan and Tamara both paled. "Oh, no," Evan whispered. "With the Wights."

I nodded.

To get to him, I will have to go out there. Against the others.

Tamara stared ahead, comprehending what I was saying. "It'll be too dangerous for us," she said. "We need to get away; otherwise the Wights will find us."

Evan gritted his teeth, looking from me to her. "But how will we know if this peculiar helps?"

"We won't," she said, eyes shining in the gloom. "We will have to trust that it works out."

Evan snorted. "You're kidding. Tell me you're kidding," he said.

Tamara just looked at him. "We'll know someday if it worked," she whispered. "One way or another, we will find Peter again."

I was getting misty-eyed myself. No matter what happened, I would remember these peculiar souls who helped me. Maybe someday, I'd get to see them again as a human boy.

Tamara seemed to stare straight into my eyes, although that was impossible. _Nothing could be cheesier,_ she said. _But who cares if it's a cliché? I'm going to say it: this is not goodbye._

 _You're right_ , I agreed. _It is a cliché._

She laughed slightly. "We better go," she said. "Evan?"

"Yeah," he said, looking at the floor. "Goodbye, Peter the Hollowgast. That Jacob person better help you out."

With that, I bounded into the exit of the loop, the entrance to the London Underground, and the gateway to whatever came next.

 **UPDATE: I just finished _Library of Souls_ , and it lined up with this surprisingly well. However, I believe this now may call for...**

 **A sequel! Gasp!**

 **Let me know if you think that's a good idea, or how much you liked the book, or any comment you like, really. See ya!**

 **~Courage**


End file.
